


young love and skating supplies

by cherry_picking



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Coming Out, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Outsider, not ep 7 compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:48:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29674461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherry_picking/pseuds/cherry_picking
Summary: Oka never planned on having children.And yet here he is, with two teens and their problems on his hands.
Relationships: Hasegawa Langa/Kyan Reki
Comments: 11
Kudos: 201





	young love and skating supplies

**Author's Note:**

> This is all from Manager Oka's POV except for a tiny bit from Langa's POV marked in italic. I know it's not good form to throw in a different POV at random like that, but tbh what's the point of writing fic if I can't merrily break a writing rule or two.
> 
> Written before episode 7. Now I actually just want angst, but I figured people might appreciate some fluff.

Oka never planned on having children.

So why then why was he playing babysitter to not one, but two whole teenagers? Sure, driving Reki to S only made sense, since he was going there anyway. But he’d seen New Boy’s lost puppy expression and caved and hired him on the spot, like the fool he was. Sure, he did need the extra hand (especially since Reki was an accident-prone disaster), but to not even check his resume or interview… Oka sighed and promised himself he’d limit his involvement in their shenanigans.

Of course, mere days later, he was trying to push protective gear on Langa and trying to convince him not to kill himself challenging the _enfant terrible_ of the skating scene.

“They will restrict my movement,” Langa replied with a flat tone that was, if Oka was learning to read him right, just this side of annoyed.

Well, if he was bothered by Oka trying to keep all his limbs intact, it was his own damn problem!

*

He generally liked his job, and talking to people, but nothing had prepared him for becoming the emotional support adult of his staff. Sakurayashiki was definitely the smarter man, not hiring teens at all.

Reki had been applying discount stickers to last season’s clothing line, his back to the counter, when he spoke up. “Can I ask you something?”

Oka sighed internally, but was very careful not to sound put upon. Reki was a good kid, and deserved a listening, non-judgemental ear. He was an adrenaline junkie, but also responsible enough when it came to work. But since the appearance of Langa… well. To say that Reki had been a mess would be the understatement of the century.

“Sure,” Oka said, already tasting the regret at the back of his throat.

“What do you think of Langa?” Reki asked, studiously casual.

He was not fooling anyone.

What was he meant to say? _Look, kid, the boy looks at you like you hung the moon and stars, please just kiss him already and put us all out of our misery_. Or, _I know you’re trying to suss out if he likes guys, but for the love of god, do you have eyes? If even my straight ass can tell…_

“He’s… nice.”

Nice. _Nice. Congrats, self._

Reki hummed to himself and moved to a shelf closer to the counter. He looked way too focused for the simple task of re-labelling, his brow furrowed in what Oka knew was Angsty Teen Rumination. That look was never a good thing.

After a while, Oka could not take it anymore.

“Why did you ask?” Oka tried.

Reki went an impressive shade of red and stammered. “N-Nothing!”

Oka sighed. It was going to be a long day. A long week. Possibly a long school year.

*

_Langa was pacing around his room. He was trying to decide if he wanted to add the rainbow pin back to his bag or not. He’d seen Cherry and Joe making out at S multiple times, with absolutely no reaction or comment from anyone. But on the other hand, they only seemed to be like that after races. He didn’t know if it was a them thing (they did seem to have an…_ interesting _relationship) or a not-being-fully-out thing. And it’s not like he was close enough to either of them to ask._

 _And even if he did put the pin back, would Reki_ know _? What if he noticed? What if he didn’t? Both prospects were equally terrifying._

_Langa cursed himself. This had not been a problem before. He’d come out to his parents when he was young enough to be slightly less self-conscious and then he just… he’d been in the same school for long enough that everyone just knew._

_But now he’d let it for long enough that it would be awkward to bring it up. He thought Reki would be okay. But he might not. He might feel like Langa had hid things from him on purpose. And while rationally he knew he didn’t owe coming out to anyone, he still felt like it was something he_ wanted _Reki to know._

_And maybe it had something to do with how his heart felt whenever Reki gave him one of his wide smiles, or how clammy his hands got whenever Reki was being extra affectionate. Maybe. Possibly.Maybe it had to do with the fact that Reki never seemed to mention girls he liked and how the question had been on the tip of Langa’s tongue so much he felt one day he was going to blurt it out like the rudest friend in history._

*

Oka put a pride sticker on the door of Dope Sketch. It was not that noticeable in the bright rainbow of colours that already adorned the doors, but it was there. ‘Everybody welcome’ and all that. Not that they weren’t before, but Oka thought the reminder would be nice.

When Langa walked in, he stopped for just a second to look at the door, a tiny, rare smile breaking over his face. Oka was sorry Reki wasn’t there to see it.

*

Reki was showing him some designs for new boards. He flipped a page and there were a few wolves and other animal drawings. Comics of Shadow and other people from S, including a tiny Cherry Blossom dressed as a ninja with a speech bubble full of insults directed towards a certain gorilla, and a couple of Oka himself with various exasperated faces. Oka chuckled. He supposed he did look like that a lot.

“It’s a pity you can’t show them around more,” he said, “With S being secret and all. They are good.”

“Uh, sure,” Reki mumbled, unconvinced.

Wanting to drop the subject as quickly as possible, Reki quickly turned to the next page. Then he stopped breathing and turned the page yet again so quick he almost ripped it. Oka had only seen what had made Reki blush so much for the barest second, but the features repeated over and over again were unmistakable. It was a page full of portraits of Langa, from sketches to full colour ones.

*

Oka never wanted children of his own. Yet here he was, trying to comfort a mopey Langa. Not that it was easy to tell, with how taciturn the boy was even on the best of days.

They were back from their short break at the hot springs at Miyakojima, and he’d seemed off ever since they got back.

After debating it with himself for a while, he asked: “Are you okay, Langa?”

“Mh.”

He was aggressively sweeping the floor as if every speck of dust had personally offended him.

“Does Reki-“ he cut himself off.

“Did you guys have a fight?”

He loved Reki like the son he absolutely did not want, but if he’d hurt Langa, he was going to get a stern talking to. Somehow he’d grown quite protective of the boy. Despite his cool exterior, he was not at all detached and uninterested in the people around him. It just took him a while to feel comfortable enough to show it.

“No.” Langa answered quickly. It was low, but coming from him if was almost a shout.

“So you’ve been moping and only taking shifts without him for no reason.”

“Does Reki… does Reki have a girlfriend?” He asked, tone so quiet.

Oka could not believe these kids. It was like being around teen Kaoru and Kojiro all over again, except he himself was no longer a teenager and it was even more… what did kids these days call it? cringe. It was cringe. To be fair, Joe and Cherry tended to be much more… explosive in their crisis. Oka was a couple of grades ahead of them in school, but no one would ever forget the famous Five Broken Desks Incident. Reki and Langa’s flare for the dramatic was at least reserved for S. Thank god for small mercies. But the two were being just as stupid.

Oka took a deep, steadying breath. “I don’t think that’s any of my business. Why don’t you ask him directly?”

There, he had not screamed _that kid is as straight as the S track and in love with you, you dumbass_. Oka was so proud of himself. That was what self-control looked like.

Langa went all red in the face and said nothing.

*

It was Reki who pulled his head out of his own ass first. At least partially.

“I think I might be gay,” he said quietly one day while stacking boxes.

_Ding ding ding ding! First prize goes to Kyan Reki! About fucking time!_

“Please don’t tell anyone for now. It’s just that I haven’t told mom yet, and I want her to hear it from me. I just… wasn’t ready, she’ll make a big deal out of it, and… ugh. What if she gets weird and, like, starts asking about _boys_ and… sorry, I’m rambling.”

“That’s okay, Reki. Thank you for trusting me with this.”

Reki smiled. “You’re pretty cool… for an old guy!”

“Hey!”

*

“Okay,” Reki said with a big grin, “So I’ve told mom. It’s no longer a secret.”

“What isn’t?” Langa asked.

Reki _jumped_. “Uuuh…” he stammered, “That I’m gay. I think. I know! It’s just… new,” he passed a hand over his face, “I hate this already, can I never come out again? Maybe I should just put it on a shirt…”

Langa moved his messenger back from his side and held it out, pointing at a rainbow pin. “Or a pin,” he murmured.

Oka could not believe his eyes. _Level one: unlocked. Maybe there’s hope yet_.

“Or a-“ Reki’s eyes were huge.

*

“What if he thinks I’m only hitting on him because I know he’s into guys?”

_I should start charging as a therapist._

_Besides… how does one even hit on someone they’re basically already dating in all but name?_

Oka had seen them come in straight from Reki’s house in the morning. He’d seen Reki feed Langa from his own bento box. Granted, he had shoved his chopsticks at the other boy’s face like he’d realised mid-gesture that it was a disgustingly romantic thing to be doing. Still. He’d seen Langa hold the door for Reki and subtly picking up the bigger boxes so he would not put strain on his hand. He’s seen him lean over his shoulder while Reki fixed boards, chin resting comfortably on his shoulder, putting them almost cheek to cheek.

“And that I… I just want to experiment, you know? Just ‘cause he’s _there_. And I don’t wanna make him feel like that. I thought it would be easier, knowing, but it’s not! It’s much worse!”

Oka scratched his fennec behind the ears and thought that biting people was actually a perfectly reasonable hobby and that his pet was much smarter than him.“You should tell him, then. Say you’ve liked him for a while.”

Oka was generally very reticent to offer advice, but surely suggesting open communication was a good thing.

“You could say that. He walked into my class, and I swear, he was the prettiest person I have ever-“

Oka tuned him out.

*

They walked into the shop together, holding hands. Reki looked vaguely stunned, Langa was red all the way to the tips of his ears.

Oka sighed in relief.

Only to start regretting all of his life choices on the fourth time _that day_ he found them making out in the back. Or stopping in the middle of a task to just gaze tenderly at each other.

_What have I done to deserve this._

*

Oka never wanted children of his own. But he guessed it could have been worse.

(And he was going to get a front row seat to Miya’s teens. So he would soon know just how much worse.)


End file.
